Route 9 Project Updates Given By Middletown Mayor

MIDDLETOWN, CT – With the Department of Transportation categorizing Middletown’s Route 9 project into three different projects, Mayor Ben Florsheim said all three projects are at various stages but will be getting completed.

Mayor Florsheim gave an update on the Route 9 project during the Common Council on Monday, May 1.

The three projects are removing the signals on Route 9, creating the pedestrian bridge and plaza, removing the yield sign on-ramp on Harbor Drive and reconfiguring the interchange between Route 9 and Route 17.

The removal of the yield sign on-ramp on Harbor Drive and the reconfiguration of the interchange between Route 9 and Route 17 is currently underway,

“It is going to make traffic flow through that section of town more efficient,” said Florsheim. “It’s going to make Harbor Park and River Front area a lot safer for pedestrians by closing off that dangerous on-ramp as well for drivers.”

After the first project is completed, Florsheim said removing the signals on Route 9 would be started next, and the final project to be completed is the pedestrian bridge and plaza.

Florsheim said that the funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law accelerated the project to remove the yield sign on-ramp on Harbor Drive and the reconfiguration of the interchange between Route 9 and Route 17 project was accelerated.

“It was originally scheduled to begin in Spring 2024, but it’s beginning this year, which means that it will hopefully be wrapping up a year early instead of 2025,” he said. “This is the only project underway of the three projects. It was separated from the others because of the urgency DOT and the city felt as it relates to the safety issue of that intersection.”

Florsheim said they would continue to listen to the community’s feedback on construction impacts.

“Fortunately, it has been a relatively low-impact project this far,” he said.

The Route 9 signal removal project has yet to have a plan in place, Florsheim told the common council.

“We’ve had a couple of hearings and conversations in this chamber about a proposal in partnership between Middletown Public Works and the State Department of Transportation that would be less expensive and have a lower impact on the city than previous proposals,” he said. “There has not been a public hearing scheduled for that yet. There is no formal plan yet.”

Florsheim said the important thing to understand about the pedestrian bridge and plaza project is, from his view, the project is enshrined in the master plan.

“This has the backing of the community and the State Department of Transportation, and we have verbal and handshake commitment from the state this is going to be realized,” he said. “Our job as we move forward is to ensure that the project gets realized on the same schedule as Route 9.”